The links between marine plastic litter and the air-sea flux of greenhouse gases

The mechanisms of air-sea exchange of greenhouse gases have been extensively studied but little is known about the consequences of marine plastic litter for gas transfer velocities and concentrations, and hence, air-sea fluxes of greenhouse gases. Marine plastic litter has the potential to both enhance and reduce oceanic greenhouse gas fluxes, but this depends on many factors that are not well understood. Different kinds of plastic behave quite differently in the sea, affecting air-sea gas exchange in different, largely unknown, ways. In Frontiers in Marine Science, the authors review the most important aspects controlling the exchange of greenhouse gases between the sea and the atmosphere and how marine plastic litter could change these.

Reference: Goddijn-Murphy, L., Woolf, D.k., Pereira, R. et al. (2023). The links between marine plastic litter and the air-sea flux of greenhouse gases. Front. Mar. Sci., 10, 1180761. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1180761